Quick, name the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) criteria for strep pharyngitis. That next patient you see, tell me when their last labs were done, what health maintenance they are due for or have already done, what their medication list is, what their chronic problems are, allergies, and when you last saw them and for…
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Maintenance of Certification: Boom or Bust?
There’s a lot of interest in Maintenance of Certification. PAMED recently did a poll, and there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the process. As we approach the end of the year and try to celebrate the holidays, those of us on deadlines face the task of doing whatever component our specialty requires. In my…
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Six Things Not To Do When Leading Physicians
“Clinical leaders of tomorrow must possess a strong background of medical and managerial expertise to develop and to shape policies in ways that ensure the highest level of patient care in years to come. If this does not occur, ultimately, physicians will become technical consultants in a dysfunctional health-care community that they have inadvertently helped…
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‘You Killed That Patient’
Brittany Maynard, a death with dignity advocate, chose to end her life in early November. The news did not get as much attention as it should have, possibly because Ebola was the biggest issue of the weeks that surrounded it. Her self-directed death by pills in Oregon, one of the few states in the U.S.…
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